Chapter 337: End Finally Seeing Yan Fajue

"I will wait for you here."

"The Dharma Jade must be used in sequence; I don't know who will go first and who will go after."

"In any case, we will meet back here after the Dharma Derivation is complete," the black-robed cultivator said succinctly.

Seeing the passage form ahead, Han Yi merely nodded, gave a brief acknowledgment, and then rushed in impatiently.

"Thank you for your trouble, Senior," Li Fan said, bowing to the black-robed cultivator before slowly stepping inside.

Ximen Yue mimicked Li Fan, entering the black stele last.

The black-robed cultivator watched as the vibrant light on the stele was gradually re-engulfed by darkness. He stood motionless before the black square stele, like a statue.

"Dharma Jade application user: Xiao Fan."

"Number: 17. Authority Level: Nascent Soul."

"Please wait patiently here. Estimated remaining wait time: seven days and twelve hours."

As light gradually returned to his vision, a lazy voice drifted into Li Fan's ears.

He looked around and saw that he was in a sealed space. The space was not particularly spacious, and its decor was quite simple. There was only a set of a table and chairs, a few potted plants, and a bookshelf. On one wall, Li Fan's application information and the waiting countdown were displayed.

Han Yi and Ximen Yue were nowhere to be seen. Li Fan surmised that each applicant was housed in their own individual space. Within this space, his spiritual energy remained dormant, preventing him from cultivating.

Seven days, while not excessively long, was still a considerable amount of time. Having nothing else to do, Li Fan walked to the bookshelf and examined the books placed there. Unlike jade slips, which could be read with divine sense, these books appeared to be purely paper-based, requiring manual page-turning. However, Li Fan had started as a scholar, so reading was not difficult for him. He picked up a few books, sat down, and began to read slowly. Among them were *Dharma Jade Usage Guidelines*, *Ten Treatises on Dharma Derivation*, and *Twofold Distinction – A Discussion on the Differences Between Dharma Jade's Derivations and Cultivator Derivations*.

Time flowed slowly as Li Fan became immersed in his reading. As Li Fan finished reading several books, he gained a general understanding of the Dharma Jade he was about to encounter.

As a treasured artifact of the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the foundation of the Protector Hall, the Dharma Jade bore the responsibility of creating and deducing new methods. Every moment, brand new cultivation techniques, previously unknown to the world, were being derived. This derivation process could not be interrupted. However, cultivation techniques were categorized by level, and the difficulty of deriving techniques for the Dao Integration stage versus the Foundation Establishment stage was naturally incomparable.

When the Dharma Jade was deriving low-tier cultivation techniques, she was in a low-power consumption state, allowing her to assist cultivators in their own technique derivations. When she was deriving high-tier techniques, cultivators had to wait patiently. Each Dharma Token allowed for different durations of requested derivation time, depending on its level. Dao Integration level tokens granted about two days, while a Nascent Soul level token, like Li Fan's, typically provided only six hours of usage time.

Cultivators using the Dharma Jade had two modes to choose from. The first was to provide only the general attributes and requirements of the desired technique, allowing the Dharma Jade to spontaneously derive it from scratch. While this "creation from nothing" method incurred no cost, the final product of the technique might not be entirely satisfactory. Furthermore, if the set requirements were too high, the time needed for the Dharma Jade's derivation could exceed the limit. In such cases, it was very likely that only a flawed version of the technique would be obtained.

The second method involved providing a foundational blueprint technique, allowing the Dharma Jade to derive an advanced technique based on it. The advantage of this method was the ability to customize with greater precision and obtain a technique closer to one's ideal. Moreover, the time required for the Dharma Jade's derivation would be significantly reduced. After the first version of the technique was generated, if its effects were unsatisfactory, one could have the Dharma Jade readjust it until the time limit expired. The drawback was that the level of the blueprint technique could not be lower than the technique being derived. Otherwise, the derivation efficiency would be greatly reduced, becoming almost indistinguishable from "creation from nothing."

Techniques derived by the Dharma Jade for individual applicants were directly taught by the Dharma Jade herself to the applicant. They were not recorded in the Myriad Immortals Alliance's technique library, and cultivators had complete autonomy over them. Furthermore, the source of the blueprint technique was not restricted and would also not be recorded or reported to the technique library.

After carefully reading all the necessary instructions, Li Fan adjusted his original plan. A moment later, he had made a final decision on how to proceed.

"However, in these instructions..." Li Fan's expression grew a little strange. He keenly noticed the use of terms like "she" and "herself" when referring to the Dharma Jade in the books.

"Could it be that the Myriad Immortals Alliance's Dharma Jade is actually a cultivator?"

"That's quite unexpected."

Li Fan looked at the countdown on the wall. Three days remained. He then read other books related to Dharma derivation theory. Most of these were accounts of insights from well-known Dharma Derivation Masters of the Myriad Immortals Alliance after using the Dharma Jade. Li Fan had previously spent nearly twenty years integrating cultivation techniques and insights to derive the *Illusory Mind Art*. He could barely be considered half a Dharma Weaver himself, and at this moment, he found the reading fascinating, without feeling bored.

Time flew by. Soon, the previous notification sound rang out again.

"Cultivator Xiao Fan, it is almost your turn. Please prepare."

Li Fan placed the books back on the shelf, took a deep breath, and his spirits lifted. The countdown on the wall slowly reached zero. Everything in the space became illusory, transforming into specks of light that drifted in a certain direction. Li Fan floated in the space, slightly startled. He glanced around and found himself in a vast, empty void. In an instant, an intuition struck him, and Li Fan followed the drifting specks of light, flying forward.

Not long after, he saw a colossal sphere composed of countless characters. The characters on the sphere were in a state of endless transformation every single moment. Occasionally, an entire passage of characters on the sphere would pause for a moment, then emit a flash of light and vanish. Then, the endless transformation and derivation would resume.

Below this gigantic sphere, a desk floated in the void. A small girl, appearing to be only five or six years old, was sprawled on the desk. She gazed at the continuously appearing text on the desktop, looking rather listless.

"She is the Dharma Jade?"

Li Fan slowly flew closer but found that after reaching a certain distance, he could no longer approach. Seeing that the little girl had not noticed him at all, he could only lightly clear his throat.

"Excuse me, are you..."

"What kind of technique do you want to derive? What are your requirements for it? From scratch, or based on a blueprint? Just write it down yourself first," the little girl said in a childish voice, without lifting her head.

Then, she patted the desk with her chubby hands. After a flash of light, a piece of paper instantly appeared. The little girl picked up the paper and tossed it in front of Li Fan.

Li Fan eyed the Dharma Jade, feeling increasingly peculiar. However, without delay, he took the paper. As he thought, lines of text immediately appeared on it.

"Blueprint techniques: *Thousand Machine Jade Sphere Golden Chapter*, *Heaven-Stealing Sun-Shifting Art*. Reference secret art: *Appearance Changes with Mind*."

"Derive a technique that allows one to completely transform into other people."